Rental cars used by Norwegian troops logged soldiers' faces and base access codes
Rental cars used by Norwegian troops in a September exercise near Oslo recorded video of soldiers, their routes and the codes they entered at military gates, Dagens Næringsliv reported. At least two of the cars were Deepal electric vehicles from Changan, a Chinese carmaker.
The discovery
Soldiers taking part in the Hovedstad exercise near Oslo, held from 14 to 18 September 2026, found out by chance that the rental cars they used were recording their activity. Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported the incident, and the account was confirmed by two other independent sources, according to the paper. The exercise involved about 5,000 members of the Norwegian Home Guard, who simulated the defence of parliament, government buildings and Oslo-Gardermoen airport. The Home Guard is Norway's territorial reserve, which secures important infrastructure in an emergency. Because of a shortage of replacement vehicles, the cars stayed in use until the exercise ended, even after the recordings were discovered.
- Poland bans Chinese-made vehicles from protected military sites
- Hovedstad exercise begins near Oslo
- Last day of the Hovedstad exercise, which ran from 14 September
What the cars recorded
According to DN's reporting, the recordings showed who got in and out of the cars, where they drove, whom they picked up and how long they stayed in each place. Lieutenant Fredrik Blanck, who spoke to DN, described the footage in these words:
The recordings captured who got in and out of the cars, where they drove, who they picked up and how long they stayed in different places. There were even codes that we entered when opening the gates and doors of military facilities.
Blanck added a warning about where the material could go:
We have no overview of where this data ends up. We don't know whether it is stored only locally, or what happens to it after the exercise ends.
He described the security implications as frightening. The cars were reportedly deleted after the exercise, but it remains unclear whether sensitive data reached remote servers while the cars were in use. Reports also say the recordings captured soldiers' faces.
Rental firm and ownership
Reports name different rental companies. Czech and Italian outlets name Hertz, which they describe as belonging to Volvo Cars, while 20 Minutes and Focus name First Rent A Car Norway, with 20 Minutes saying it belongs to the Geely group and Focus saying it is part of Volvo Cars. Volvo Cars is majority owned through Geely by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and wpolityce.pl puts the Geely group's stake at about 78.65%. Volvo Cars rejected the suggestion that Chinese ownership creates a security risk. It said the data had been deleted and that it cannot share data with its parent group, Geely, without a legal basis. The rental firm said it complies with Norwegian and European law, and no data transfer to China has been established, although the cars were found to store video.
Official response
The Norwegian armed forces declined to comment on the incident itself. Press spokesman Aleksander Engborg Hage told Focus that no general ban on vehicles from particular countries exists, although local restrictions remain possible. 20 Minutes reports that the incident is subject to an internal investigation. Norway's domestic intelligence service wrote in its 2026 threat assessment that Chinese intelligence services had expanded their capabilities in Norway, including in cyberspace and through human sources.
Poland and other armies
Poland banned Chinese-made vehicles from protected military sites on 17 February 2026, according to wpolityce.pl, which says the decision was taken by Gen. Wiesław Kukuła, Chief of the General Staff. The restriction cited the risk that cameras, onboard sensors, GPS receivers and communication modules collect data, and it covered brands including MG, BYD, Omoda, BAIC, Voyah and Hongqi. Il Fatto Quotidiano reports that Polish officers also barred soldiers from connecting their phones to Chinese cars. Focus reports that Israel's armed forces barred Chinese vehicles from military bases in August 2025 and later withdrew service cars of that origin.
